Dreaded gangster Munna Bhai, 11 others sentenced to death

Vijayawada: A local court in Ongole of Prakasam district on Monday ordered the death penalty to dreaded gangster Md Abdul Samad alias Munna Bhai and 11 of his accomplices.

Thirteen years of trials later, the court finally sentenced 12 of the 18 accused to capital punishment and six of the other gang members to life imprisonment. The gang was found guilty of dacoity and murder on the Chennai-Kolkata highway in three cases. VIII Additional District and Sessions Judge G. Manohar Reddy found them guilty in the fourth case under the Indian Arms Act relating to possession of 9 mm carbine machine gun.

Public prosecutor S. Sivaramakrishna Prasad said that the accused, in 2008, had murdered six truck drivers and cleaners - Ramar Shekar and Perumal Subramanium from Tamil Nadu, G. Syambabu and G. Vinod Kumar from Andhra Pradesh and Bhushan Yadav and Chandan Kumar Mehatho from Bihar. They attacked the victims with iron rods which they would dispose of at scrap dealers. The gang also buried the dead bodies to hide their identity. The gang was also involved in some property offenses along the highway during the period.

Munna Bhai and his accomplices Sk Riyas, Syed Hidayuthulla, Md. Jamaluddin, Batala Salamon, Y. Chinna Veeraswamy, G. Bhanu Prakash, Rachamala Sampath, G. Sreedhar, Sk. Hafeez, A. Gangadhar Rao, Sk Kamal Saheb, Sk Rahamuthulla, Sk Dada Peer, Sk Irfan and Sk Rafi were charged under various IPC sections. A crucial breakthrough in the cases was made by the team led by officers by T. Shankar Reddy, Y. Srinivasa Rao and Srinivas.

Munna Bhai had spent some time in parts of Karnataka before he was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh police. Three other murder-for-gain cases against him were also under different stages of trial.